Scottish Executive

Asylum Seekers

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide additional resources to local authorities to improve community relations and develop strategies to encourage awareness and understanding between local residents and asylum seekers.

Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for local authorities and I know that, particularly in Glasgow, much good work is being done within existing resources. The key is to have strategies in place to encourage awareness and understanding between local residents and asylum seekers before asylum seekers arrive.

Child Protection

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are currently on the child protection register, broken down by local authority area.

Mr Jack McConnell: Child protection registers are maintained by individual local authorities in Scotland. The following table illustrates the total number of children recorded on these registers as at 31 March 1999, and is the most current information held centrally.

  


Local authority area 
  

Number on Register 
  

Rate per 1,000 population aged 0-15 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

201 
  

5.2 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

86 
  

1.8 
  



Angus 
  

59 
  

2.7 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

41 
  

2.5 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

16 
  

1.6 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

70 
  

2.5 
  



Dundee City 
  

44 
  

1.6 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

11 
  

0.4 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

11 
  

0.5 
  



East Lothian 
  

72 
  

4.0 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

21 
  

1.2 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

360 
  

4.6 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

19 
  

3.5 
  



Falkirk 
  

80 
  

2.8 
  



Fife 
  

85 
  

1.2 
  



Glasgow City 
  

380 
  

3.2 
  



Highland 
  

216 
  

5.1 
  



Inverclyde 
  

11 
  

0.6 
  



Midlothian1


47 
  

2.9 
  



Moray 
  

50 
  

2.8 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

31 
  

1.1 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

54 
  

0.8 
  



Orkney Isles 
  

1 
  

0.2 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

45 
  

1.7 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

65 
  

1.8 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

21 
  

1.0 
  



Shetland 
  

23 
  

4.5 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

4 
  

0.2 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

50 
  

0.8 
  



Stirling 
  

42 
  

2.6 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

42 
  

2.1 
  



West Lothian 
  

103 
  

3.1 
  



SCOTLAND 
  

2,361 
  

2.3 
  



  Notes:

  1. Figure for 1998 for Midlothian is an estimate.

Childcare

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards training 5,000 new childcare workers by 2002, as set out in Making it work together: A programme for government .

Nicol Stephen: Almost 2,000 workers have been trained to date. We are on target to deliver this commitment.

Childcare

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in providing out of school care places for 100,000 children by 2003, as set out in Making it work together: A programme for government .

Nicol Stephen: We are making good progress towards the target of out-of-school places for 100,000 children. The number of children benefiting from out of school care is just under 38,000. This includes children who are taking up places created through the New Opportunities Fund (NOF).

  More places for children will be created as further awards are made by NOF and through the childcare strategy resources made available to local authorities.

Cycling

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13224 by Sarah Boyack on 20 March 2001, when the survey of cycle training provision in schools will be completed and what action it intends to take in relation to any areas found to have low levels of training provision.

Sarah Boyack: The survey is due for completion by the end of June. Its aim is to provide baseline information on levels of cycle training in Scottish schools. When it is available I will consider its implications fully.

Dental Care

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance exists on the circumstances in which a general anaesthetic should be recommended to NHS dental patients by dentists; whether such treatment involves any charge to patients and, if so, what that charge is, which categories of patient care are exempt from such a charge and how long such a charge has existed.

Susan Deacon: The offer of a general anaesthetic to a patient under the NHS requires the dentist to make a clinical judgment based on need. In the majority of cases this judgment is based on the degree of anxiety or phobia exhibited by the patient and the related complexity of the dental treatment required.

  In Scotland at present all NHS patients requiring general anaesthesia for dental treatment are treated within a hospital environment. The provision of general anaesthesia to such patients is free.

Drug Misuse

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many users of class "A" drugs there currently are in each local authority area and how much funding has been provided to each local authority to deal with drug misuse in the current financial year.

Iain Gray: Information on the number of users of class "A" drugs is not held centrally. The Executive, however, is currently funding a National Prevalence Study of Problematic Drug Use, which will assist DATs, local authorities and health boards to determine the need for services in their areas.

  Local authorities fund drug rehabilitation services from within their general allocations. Additional funding of £20.4 million is being allocated specifically for these services over the next three years. Allocations for this financial year are as follows:

  


 

 Remaining 
Social Work Services 


 Primary IndicatorTotal 
Population 
 GAE(£000) 
 of which;Drug Rehabilitation(£000) 
  


 Aberdeen City 
 212,650 
 1,992 
 282 


 Aberdeenshire 
 227,440 
 2,131 
 302 


 Angus 
 109,840 
 1,029 
 146 


 Argyll & Bute 
  
 89,730 
 841 
 119 


 Clackmannanshire 
  
 48,530 
 455 
 65 


 Dumfries & Galloway 
  
 146,800 
 1,375 
 195 


 Dundee City 
 144,430 
 1,353 
 192 


 East Ayrshire 
 120,940 
 1,133 
 161 


 East Dunbartonshire 
  
 110,690 
 1,037 
 147 


 East Lothian 
 90,430 
 847 
 120 


 East Renfrewshire 
  
 89,280 
 837 
 119 


 Edinburgh, City 
of 
 451,710 
 4,232 
 600 


 Eilean Siar 
 27,560 
 258 
 37 


 Falkirk 
 144,370 
 1,353 
 192 


 Fife 
 349,200 
 3,272 
 464 


 Glasgow City 
 611,440 
 5,729 
 812 


 Highland 
 208,600 
 1,954 
 277 


 Inverclyde 
 85,190 
 798 
 113 


 Midlothian 
 81,680 
 765 
 108 


 Moray 
 85,210 
 798 
 113 


 North Ayrshire 
 139,410 
 1,306 
 185 


 North Lanarkshire 
  
 327,940 
 3,073 
 436 


 Orkney 
 19,600 
 184 
 26 


 Perth & Kinross 
  
 134,030 
 1,256 
 178 


 Renfrewshire 
 177,230 
 1,661 
 235 


 Scottish Borders 
  
 106,400 
 997 
 141 


 Shetland 
 22,740 
 213 
 30 


 South Ayrshire 
  
 114,250 
 1,070 
 152 


 South Lanarkshire 
  
 307,520 
 2,881 
 408 


 Stirling 
 84,700 
 794 
 113 


 West Dunbartonshire 
  
 94,980 
 890 
 126 


 West Lothian 
 154,680 
 1,449 
 205 


 Scotland 
 5,119,200 
 47,964 
 6,800

Drug Misuse

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much is being spent on heroin addicts on methadone programmes in the current financial year, broken down by health board area.

Iain Gray: Information on the total cost of treating heroin addicts with methadone is not held centrally.

  Total costs include the cost of the methadone, fees to pharmacists to dispense methadone and to supervise consumption, the cost of counselling and social support and fees to GPs participating in shared care schemes. There are also costs of providing specialist drug services.

  Current resources for treatment services in this financial year total £14.352 million. This includes £2 million from the £100 million package of additional resources provided through the 2000 Spending Review.

Drug Misuse

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on whether heroin addicts on methadone should be gradually weaned off the drug or remain on it for life.

Iain Gray: Clinical guidance issued to all medical practitioners involved in treating drug misuse in 1999 acknowledges that some people can become drug-free in the short term, others require support over a long period of time.

  Substitute prescribing of methadone should not be delivered in isolation, however, but as part of a wider social care programme which will assist drug misusers to address the difficulties which drug use causes to them, their families and the wider community. The Executive has provided an additional £20.4 million to local authorities for rehabilitation services over the next three years for that purpose. It has also allocated a further £6.5 million to assist reforming drug misusers prepare for training and employment.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has compared any schemes it has to assist teachers to purchase computers with those available in other parts of the United Kingdom and whether it will use any knowledge gained to amend its schemes if those elsewhere have a higher take up rate.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive regularly monitors such developments in other parts of the UK. The Scottish Computers for Teachers scheme is available to all primary and secondary teachers, and the take-up rate over the first two tranches of around 18% of the teaching force appears to compare favourably with other schemes. However, we are currently revising our plans for the future and the success of the different schemes in operation elsewhere will be included in that review.

Education

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to undertake a programme to encourage children to study technological subjects at school.

Mr Jack McConnell: As stated in my response to question S1W-13460, the Scottish Executive has reviewed the Standard Grade course with the aim of making it more attractive to pupils and revised courses will be available from academic session 2001-02. A number of other measures have been taken to promote technological studies in schools, as outlined in my response to question S1W-12194. In addition, the Deputy Minister will meet with representatives of education and industry to discuss ways in which the profile of technological studies in schools can be raised.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many classroom assistants were employed in primary schools in each of the last four years, broken down by local authority area.

Mr Jack McConnell: Funding for the classroom assistants initiative was established in 1999 as part of the Excellence Fund. As at April 2001, 2661.69 FTE classroom assistants have been employed in Scottish primary schools. A breakdown of the number of classroom assistants expressed in FTEs employed through the Excellence Fund in 1999-2000 and 2000-01 is set out in the table.

  


 


Classroom Assistants 
  



Authority 
  

No. Employed in 1999-2000
(FTE) 
  

No. Employed in 2000-01
(FTE) 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

108.4 
  

124 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

75 
  

108 
  



Angus 
  

35 
  

49 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

14.87 
  

23 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

13 
  

21 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

55.7 
  

64.1 
  



Dundee 
  

34 
  

64 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

30 
  

69 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

36 
  

80 
  



East Lothian 
  

25 
  

31 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

36 
  

70 
  



Edinburgh 
  

80.08 
  

147.1 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

5 
  

5 
  



Falkirk 
  

61 
  

88.4 
  



Fife 
  

77.7 
  

156 
  



Glasgow 
  

233* 
  

358* 
  



Highland 
  

25 
  

79.2 
  



Inverclyde 
  

28 
  

60 
  



Midlothian 
  

24.2 
  

42.29 
  



Moray 
  

47.5 
  

51 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

52.8 
  

80.7 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

133 
  

186 
  



Orkney 
  

3.5 
  

3.5 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

26 
  

54 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

82.5 
  

130.7 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

20 
  

48.9 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

3.5 
  

4.5 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

48 
  

60 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

84.7 
  

203 
  



Stirling 
  

20 
  

27 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

44 
  

64 
  



West Lothian 
  

40.2 
  

109.3 
  



TOTAL 
  

1,602.65 
  

2,661.69 
  



  * Includes 30 and 35 trainees with WISE Group respectively.

Education

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of (a) primary 1, (b) primary 2 and (c) primary 3 children in Clydesdale were in class sizes of 30 or more in (i) 1996-97, (ii) 1997-1998, (iii) 1998-1999, (iv) 1999-2000 and (v) 2000-01.

Mr Jack McConnell: Class size information was first collected through the School Census in 1997 and the results of the 2000-01 Census are not yet available. The information which is available is set out in the tables below. Substantial resources have been made available through the Excellence Fund throughout Scotland to assist local authorities lower class sizes in primary one to three classes. This year £20.1 million will be available. The Scottish Executive is committed to reducing class sizes in primary one to three to 30 or less by 1 August 2001.

  


 

 1997 
Number of pupils of 30 and more 


 P1 
 P2 
 P3 


 Class of 30 
 Class over 30 
 Class 30 or more 
  
 All P1 
 %30 or more 
 Class of 30 
 Class over 30 
 Class30 or more 
  
 All P2 
 %30 or more 
 Class of 30 
 Class over 30 
 Class30 or more 
  
 All P3 
 %30 or more 


 Clydesdale 
 90 
 32 
 122 
 1,028 
 11.9 
 0 
 159 
 159 
 1,047 
 15.2 
 60 
 125 
 185 
 1,004 
 18.4 


 Scotland 
 3,617 
 9,861 
 13,478 
 64,225 
 21.0 
 4,963 
 11,575 
 16,538 
 65,623 
 25.2 
 4,680 
 14,575 
 19,255 
 65,083 
 29.6 



 

 1998 
Number of pupils in classes of 30 and more 


 P1 
 P2 
 P3 


 Class of 30 
 Class over 30 
 Class 30 or more 
  
 All P1 
 %30 or more 
 Class of 30 
 Class over 30 
 Class30 or more 
  
 All P2 
 %30 or more 
 Class of 30 
 Class over 30 
 Class30 or more 
  
 All P3 
 %30 or more 


 Clydesdale 
 0 
 137 
 137 
 996 
 13.8 
 30 
 53 
 83 
 1043 
 8.0 
 150 
 96 
 246 
 1,047 
 23.5 


 Scotland 
 2,910 
 8,708 
 11,618 
 61,908 
 18.8 
 4,410 
 9,912 
 14,322 
 63,738 
 22.5 
 5,460 
 11,717 
 17,177 
 65,409 
 26.3 



 

 1999 
Number of pupils in classes of 30 and more 


 P1 
 P2 
 P3 


 Class of 30 
 Class over 30 
 Class 30 or more 
  
 All P1 
 %30 or more 
 Class of 30 
 Class over 30 
 Class30 or more 
  
 All P2 
 %30 or more 
 Class of 30 
 Class over 30 
 Class30 or more 
  
 All P3 
 %30 or more 


 Clydesdale 
 0 
 62 
 62 
 939 
 6.6 
 30 
 0 
 30 
 995 
 3.0 
 60 
 63 
 123 
 1,032 
 11.9 


 Scotland 
 3,660 
 3,072 
 6,732 
 60,221 
 11.2 
 3,300 
 7,228 
 10,528 
 61,622 
 17.1 
 4,680 
 9,370 
 14,050 
 63,421 
 22.2

Employment

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance is given by it to help redundant employees re-train and find alternative employment in or near their communities.

Ms Wendy Alexander: In the event of a redundancy situation, support will be provided to those affected in accordance with the principles set out in our PACE (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) document. Local response teams, involving key local and national agencies, have been established across Scotland and stand ready to offer the necessary support and advice to those affected.

Employment

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what notification is given to it by employers when large scale redundancy programmes are planned and implemented.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The legal basis under which employers must notify the Government of significant redundancies is the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The Act states that employers must notify the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, in writing, if they intend to make significant redundancies. The Department of Trade and Industry, under Concordat arrangements between that department and the Scottish Executive, will in turn notify the Executive of those in Scotland.

Employment

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current level of unemployment is among young people leaving care.

Nicol Stephen: This information is not held centrally.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any joint plans with HM Custom and Excise to reduce the smuggling of illegal meat into Scotland.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce illegal imports of animal products at airports and ferry terminals from countries which have a high level of endemic diseases such as foot-and-mouth.

Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15399 on 10 May 2001.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how long the foot-and-mouth disease virus can survive in dried meats.

Ross Finnie: According to the Office International Des Epizooties, which is the world organisation for animal health, FMD virus is resistant to fermentation and smoking processes. The virus may remain in hams for 180 days, dried sausages for more than one year and in processed intestinal casings (sausage skins) for more than two years.

Gaelic

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any unmet need for Gaelic language teachers and, if so, what steps are being taken to address this.

Mr Jack McConnell: The supply of Gaelic-medium teachers continues to be a priority for Scottish Ministers. In recent annual guidance to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) on setting of intakes to courses of initial teacher education the Executive asked SHEFC to pursue ways to increase the supply of Gaelic-medium teachers for introduction in academic session 2001-02. SHEFC have responded by allocating 10 funded places to Strathclyde University for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education specifically to support primary Gaelic-medium provision.

  The Supply of Teachers report, Vol. 1 – Jan 2001, details the background to the current position on the collection of information relevant to teacher supply and outlines planned improvements to current methods. Copies of this report have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 10751). The answer to your question can be found at paragraphs 28-36 of the report.

Hepatitis

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the recent court decision in England regarding compensation for those who contracted hepatitis C from blood transfusions, whether it will make payments to those similarly affected in Scotland.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is currently considering the implications of the English judgment.

Higher Education

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many graduates there were from each university engineering faculty in each year since 1995 and how many of these were from (a) Scotland, (b) the rest of the UK, (c) another EU country and (d) a non-EU country.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Information is not collected by faculty. However, available data by subject group for those graduating from higher education institutions in Scotland is as follows:

  Graduates from Scottish Higher Education Institutions with Engineering & Technology as main subject

  


1994-95
Institution 
  

Scotland 
  

Rest UK 
  

EU 
  

Non EU 
  

Total 
  



University of Abertay 
  

192 
  

13 
  

3 
  

6 
  

214 
  



Glasgow School of Art 
  

10 
  

4 
  

0 
  

0 
  

14 
  



The Scottish College of Textiles 
  

83 
  

24 
  

4 
  

1 
  

112 
  



The Robert Gordon University 
  

208 
  

16 
  

4 
  

15 
  

243 
  



University of Paisley 
  

310 
  

5 
  

26 
  

10 
  

351 
  



Glasgow Caledonian University 
  

142 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  

144 
  



Napier University 
  

328 
  

21 
  

21 
  

13 
  

383 
  



The University of Edinburgh 
  

100 
  

77 
  

8 
  

19 
  

204 
  



The University of Glasgow 
  

198 
  

29 
  

55 
  

180 
  

462 
  



The University of Strathclyde 
  

344 
  

67 
  

35 
  

107 
  

553 
  



The University of Aberdeen 
  

87 
  

26 
  

5 
  

56 
  

174 
  



Heriot-Watt University 
  

227 
  

107 
  

32 
  

53 
  

419 
  



The University of Dundee 
  

111 
  

40 
  

0 
  

0 
  

151 
  



Total 
  

2,340 
  

430 
  

193 
  

461 
  

3,424 
  



  


1995-96
Institution 
  

Scotland 
  

Rest UK 
  

EU 
  

Non EU 
  

Total 
  



University of Abertay 
  

371 
  

26 
  

23 
  

20 
  

440 
  



Glasgow School of Art 
  

11 
  

2 
  

1 
  

0 
  

14 
  



The Scottish College of Textiles 
  

55 
  

26 
  

2 
  

1 
  

84 
  



The Robert Gordon University 
  

210 
  

13 
  

11 
  

14 
  

248 
  



University of Paisley 
  

274 
  

4 
  

35 
  

9 
  

322 
  



Glasgow Caledonian University 
  

311 
  

9 
  

0 
  

4 
  

324 
  



Napier University 
  

369 
  

22 
  

37 
  

7 
  

435 
  



The University of Edinburgh 
  

84 
  

72 
  

10 
  

51 
  

217 
  



The University of Glasgow 
  

165 
  

39 
  

34 
  

178 
  

416 
  



The University of Strathclyde 
  

482 
  

62 
  

50 
  

129 
  

723 
  



The University of Aberdeen 
  

69 
  

13 
  

8 
  

76 
  

166 
  



Heriot-Watt University 
  

256 
  

126 
  

33 
  

87 
  

502 
  



The University of Dundee 
  

59 
  

36 
  

36 
  

39 
  

170 
  



Total 
  

2,716 
  

450 
  

280 
  

615 
  

4,061 
  



  


1996-97
Institution 
  

Scotland 
  

Rest UK 
  

EU 
  

Non EU 
  

Total 
  



University of Abertay 
  

300 
  

25 
  

28 
  

12 
  

365 
  



Glasgow School of Art 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



The Scottish College of Textiles 
  

70 
  

23 
  

4 
  

4 
  

101 
  



The Robert Gordon University 
  

200 
  

18 
  

10 
  

33 
  

261 
  



University of Paisley 
  

155 
  

1 
  

32 
  

7 
  

195 
  



Glasgow Caledonian University 
  

192 
  

6 
  

4 
  

2 
  

204 
  



Napier University 
  

212 
  

16 
  

62 
  

10 
  

300 
  



The University of Edinburgh 
  

103 
  

71 
  

21 
  

51 
  

246 
  



The University of Glasgow 
  

129 
  

32 
  

36 
  

178 
  

375 
  



The University of Strathclyde 
  

447 
  

55 
  

92 
  

135 
  

729 
  



The University of Aberdeen 
  

97 
  

15 
  

5 
  

97 
  

214 
  



Heriot-Watt University 
  

227 
  

128 
  

48 
  

72 
  

475 
  



The University of Dundee 
  

41 
  

29 
  

43 
  

39 
  

152 
  



Total 
  

2,173 
  

419 
  

385 
  

640 
  

3,617 
  



  


1997-98
Institution 
  

Scotland 
  

Rest UK 
  

EU 
  

Non EU 
  

Total 
  



University of Abertay 
  

163 
  

14 
  

18 
  

18 
  

213 
  



Glasgow School of Art 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



The Scottish College of Textiles 
  

100 
  

26 
  

2 
  

6 
  

134 
  



The Robert Gordon University 
  

267 
  

21 
  

12 
  

49 
  

349 
  



University of Paisley 
  

213 
  

5 
  

36 
  

8 
  

262 
  



Glasgow Caledonian University 
  

266 
  

5 
  

11 
  

7 
  

289 
  



Napier University 
  

176 
  

16 
  

56 
  

1 
  

249 
  



The University of Edinburgh 
  

110 
  

83 
  

20 
  

57 
  

270 
  



The University of Glasgow 
  

184 
  

32 
  

47 
  

105 
  

368 
  



The University of Strathclyde 
  

409 
  

34 
  

75 
  

113 
  

631 
  



The University of Aberdeen 
  

111 
  

7 
  

3 
  

51 
  

172 
  



Heriot-Watt University 
  

230 
  

105 
  

66 
  

84 
  

485 
  



The University of Dundee 
  

37 
  

26 
  

35 
  

40 
  

138 
  



Total 
  

2,266 
  

374 
  

381 
  

539 
  

3,560 
  



  


1998-99
Institution 
  

Scotland 
  

Rest UK 
  

EU 
  

Non EU 
  

Total 
  



University of Abertay 
  

87 
  

3 
  

21 
  

18 
  

129 
  



Glasgow School of Art 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



The Robert Gordon University 
  

248 
  

11 
  

9 
  

60 
  

328 
  



University of Paisley 
  

184 
  

6 
  

46 
  

8 
  

244 
  



Glasgow Caledonian University 
  

211 
  

9 
  

10 
  

4 
  

234 
  



Napier University 
  

154 
  

13 
  

56 
  

7 
  

230 
  



The University of Edinburgh 
  

109 
  

61 
  

8 
  

43 
  

221 
  



The University of Glasgow 
  

161 
  

27 
  

42 
  

128 
  

358 
  



The University of Strathclyde 
  

413 
  

35 
  

68 
  

93 
  

609 
  



The University of Aberdeen 
  

100 
  

17 
  

8 
  

62 
  

187 
  



Heriot-Watt University 
  

351 
  

121 
  

107 
  

127 
  

706 
  



The University of Dundee 
  

44 
  

17 
  

46 
  

23 
  

130 
  



Total 
  

2,062 
  

320 
  

421 
  

573 
  

3,376 
  



  The Scottish College of Textiles merged with Heriot-Watt University on 1/10/98.

  


1999-2000
Institution 
  

Scotland 
  

Rest UK 
  

EU 
  

Non EU 
  

Total 
  



University of Abertay 
  

45 
  

1 
  

26 
  

18 
  

90 
  



Glasgow School of Art 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



The Robert Gordon University 
  

271 
  

16 
  

13 
  

81 
  

381 
  



University of Paisley 
  

176 
  

3 
  

43 
  

10 
  

232 
  



Glasgow Caledonian University 
  

213 
  

7 
  

21 
  

14 
  

255 
  



Napier University 
  

193 
  

15 
  

63 
  

9 
  

280 
  



The University of Edinburgh 
  

123 
  

31 
  

16 
  

23 
  

193 
  



The University of Glasgow 
  

140 
  

24 
  

33 
  

88 
  

285 
  



The University of Strathclyde 
  

402 
  

35 
  

74 
  

88 
  

599 
  



The University of Aberdeen 
  

93 
  

13 
  

9 
  

39 
  

154 
  



Heriot-Watt University 
  

314 
  

99 
  

84 
  

114 
  

611 
  



The University of Dundee 
  

33 
  

16 
  

36 
  

29 
  

114 
  



Total 
  

2,003 
  

260 
  

418 
  

513 
  

3,194 
  



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Junior Doctors

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many junior doctors currently work within the 56-hour limit set out in the Working Time Directive.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many junior doctors are working in jobs which do not currently comply with the 56 hours a week target outlined in the New Deal for Junior Doctors.

Susan Deacon: The latest information and a full analysis of the current position on junior doctors’ hours of work is given in the report of the joint Scottish Executive and British Medical Association New Deal Implementation Support Group report which was published on 26 April. Copies are available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Justice

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what receipts were given to Her Majesty’s Treasury via the UK Consolidated Fund in respect of fines imposed by Scottish courts and police, for each year since 1997.

Mr Jim Wallace: The total of fines income, which was collected by the Scottish Court Service in the sheriff courts and subsequently, paid over to the Consolidated Fund for the financial years 1996-97 to 1999-2000 is as follows:

  


Financial Year 
  

Value sent to Exchequer (£000) 
  



1996-97 
  

10,708 
  



1997-98 
  

12,353 
  



1998-99 
  

11,598 
  



1999-2000 
  

10,471 
  



  The total of court-imposed fines (including back-duty), registered fines, compensation orders, police and procurator fiscal conditional offers of fixed penalties1 and police fixed penalty notices collected by district courts in Scotland and subsequently paid to the Exchequer for the financial years 1997-98 to 1999-2000 is as follows:

  


Financial Year 
  

Value sent to Exchequer (£000) 
  



1997-982


9,144 
  



1998-993


9,502 
  



1999-20004


8,363 
  



  Notes:

  1. Procurator Fiscal penalties account for only a relatively small proportion of the total amount.

  2. Missing data for North Lanarkshire.

  3. Missing data for North Lanarkshire and Stirling.

  4. Missing data for North Lanarkshire and Stirling.

Justice

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many successful prosecutions of driving offences involving motorists driving too slowly, not pulling over timeously to let following traffic overtake and causing accidents or problems for other drivers there have been in the past year.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Information requested is not held centrally.

Legal Aid

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Scottish Legal Aid Board will handle any increased workload flowing from recent and anticipated policy developments, while maintaining and improving its standards.

Mr Jim Wallace: The board recently submitted a bid for additional resources to allow them to modernise their infrastructure and systems; to deal with a significant increase in workload, and to improve the speed and accuracy of its decision making.

  Separately, the board had earlier applied for funding under our Modernising Government initiative to assist with the move to electronic delivery of legal aid.

  Both the general and the Modernising Government bids would be used by the board on the "invest to save" principle. In other words, some of the investment now will yield efficiency gains and savings in future years.

  I have decided to increase the grant-in-aid to the board to allow the proposed programme of investments to proceed. This will improve both the services that the board provides to its clients and its overall efficiency. I have looked very carefully at the current level of demand for legal aid and believe that this increase can be afforded within the existing overall provision.

  Under the Modernising Government Fund, the board was awarded £0.75 million, of which £0.7 million will be provided in the current year. To complement this money, I have decided that, over and above the grant-in-aid, additional funds should be made available over the next two years amounting to £956,000 in total.

  The board’s basic grant-in-aid provision in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 will now be £8.8 million, £8.9 million and £9.0 million respectively. The additional Modernising Government monies will bring the totals to £9.875 million, £9.49 million and £9.0 million respectively.

Legislation

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has used or is using any external agencies, organisations or persons in relation to the drafting of legislation, whether primary or otherwise, for consideration in the Scottish Parliament and, if so, who these persons, agencies or organisations are or were.

Mr Tom McCabe: No.

Local Government

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to recognise the achievements of Dumfries and Galloway Council and other local authorities whose websites were recently rated in the top 20 local authority websites in the UK by the Society of Information Technology Management.

Peter Peacock: The Executive welcomes the achievements of Dumfries and Galloway and the other Scottish local authorities whose websites have received recognition by the Society of Information Technology Management. Dumfries and Galloway were awarded £72,000 from the Modernising Government Fund in December last year and, of the 36 awards made from the fund, 22 of these were made to local authorities.

Local Government Finance

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to encourage local authorities to address the need identified in the Accounts Commission’s Overview of the 1999/2000 Local Authority Audits to review the management of capital expenditure.

Peter Peacock: The general capital expenditure section of the Accounts Commission report relates to the use of revenue for capital purposes. While the amount of capital expenditure funded from revenue is a matter for individual local authorities, the Accounts Commission is responsible for ensuring that local authorities observe standard accounting principles when funding capital expenditure from revenue. We would expect local authorities to work with their appointed auditor on accounting issues.

Medical Records

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give details of its plans to place patients’ health records on the Internet.

Susan Deacon: NHSScotland patients’ health records are not held on the Internet and there are currently no plans to hold them there.

NHS Waiting Times

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11227 by Susan Deacon on 8 January 2001, why the median waiting time for a first outpatient appointment with a consultant neurologist following GP referral in Forth Valley Health Board has increased from 36 days for the year ending 31 March 1999 to 154 days for the year ending 31 March 2000 and what action it plans to take to address this situation.

Susan Deacon: This is a matter for Forth Valley Health Board.

  Improvements to service provision across the health board area since March 2000 have produced a significant reduction in waiting times. The board reports that all urgent referrals are now seen within seven working days and waiting times for routine neurology appointments have been halved, despite an increase in the number of new outpatients seen.

National Parks

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to set out in detail its overall position in relation to the Cairngorms National Park before the publication of the draft designation order.

Rhona Brankin: In accordance with the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000, no decision will be taken until we receive the Reporters consultation report and consider it. Following this we will bring forward a draft designation order on which there will be further consultation.

Prescription Charges

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11571 by Susan Deacon on 8 January 2001, what criteria or guidelines are used in agreeing with the medical profession the list of conditions which confer exemption from prescription charges.

Susan Deacon: The criteria used when the list was agreed in 1968 were that the conditions should be easily recognisable, lifelong and life-threatening.

Prescription Charges

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, as part of its consideration of mental health issues following the report of the Millan Committee’s review of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984, it has reviewed or intends to review current policy in relation to the levying of prescription charges on mental health patients.

Susan Deacon: We have no plans to do so.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints by inmates have been received regarding levels of drug misuse in prisons in each year since 1997, broken down by prison.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  This information is not collected in the form requested. However, details of prisoners’ complaints by prison and by the most common subjects raised through the formal complaints procedure are published annually in the SPS Annual Report.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was made available to each prison for "home leave" in each year since 1997 and how much money was actually spent.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The table shows the expenditure on "home leave" in each financial year since 1997-98.

  The original budget details for these years are not readily available and could not be assembled except at disproportionate cost.

  


Establishment 
  

1997-98
Actual
(£) 
  

1998-99
Actual
(£) 
  

1999-2000
Actual
(£) 
  

2000-01
Actual
(£) 
  



Barlinnie 
  

356 
  

Nil 
  

Nil 
  

Nil 
  



Cornton Vale 
  

963 
  

946 
  

702 
  

831 
  



Dumfries 
  

Nil 
  

6 
  

Nil 
  

Nil 
  



Dungavel 
  

4,281 
  

163 
  

215 
  

32 
  



Longriggend 
  

15 
  

Nil 
  

Nil 
  

Nil 
  



Penninghame 
  

2,218,528,219 
  

28,219 
  

27,457 
  

Nil 
  



Shotts 
  

54 
  

66 
  

72 
  

Nil 
  



Aberdeen 
  

182 
  

111 
  

76 
  

39 
  



Castle Huntly 
  

11,521 
  

13,156 
  

20,722 
  

47,507 
  



Edinburgh 
  

1,379 
  

11,703 
  

11,566 
  

9,244 
  



Friarton 
  

148 
  

Nil 
  

Nil 
  

Nil 
  



Glenochil 
  

58 
  

48 
  

6 
  

63 
  



Inverness 
  

40,194,256 
  

4,256 
  

2,737 
  

2,645 
  



Noranside 
  

16,224 
  

16,633 
  

22,488 
  

33,070 
  



Perth 
  

5,593 
  

1,381 
  

1,152 
  

371 
  



Peterhead 
  

136 
  

6 
  

6 
  

Nil 
  



Polmont 
  

1,340 
  

1,357 
  

2,035 
  

1,784 
  



TOTAL 
  

68,454 
  

78,051 
  

89,234 
  

95,586

Public Ministerial Meetings

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11911 by Mr Tom McCabe on 27 March 2001, what budget has been allocated to the series of "Question Time" events for (a) 2000-01 and (b) 2001-02, including the amount allocated for market research, external consultants, hire of facilities and publicity, and what actual costs have been incurred to date.

Mr Tom McCabe: No specific budget was allocated for undertaking the series of "Question Time" events in 2000-01 and we are still considering our plans for this year. The only costs so far incurred relate to the Inverness event. The cost of actually staging the event was £7,000.

  We intend to go out to competitive tender to identify audiences representative of a broad section of the community for future events and it would be inappropriate to reveal costs for Inverness during a tender process. However, as promised in my earlier answer, I will write to Mr Harding once that process is complete.

Road Accidents

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were injured in accidents involving footways in each of the last three years for which figures are available, broken down by local authority area.

Sarah Boyack: Data about accidents on roads (including footways) in which a vehicle is involved, and which result in death or personal injury, are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the STATS 19 statistical report form. Information about accidents in which no vehicle was involved, such as injury to a person after slipping on a pavement, is not held centrally.

  The table gives the numbers of people killed or injured in accidents in which a vehicle was on the footway or a pedestrian was on the footway or verge. The information is broken down by local authority area. Figures for years prior to 1999 are not available because the information required to identify vehicles which were on the footway (pavement) at the time of the accident has only been collected in the STATS 19 returns with effect from 1999.

  The total numbers of people killed or injured in road accidents which involved either (i) a vehicle whose location, at the time of the accident, was on the footway (pavement) or (ii) a pedestrian casualty whose location was on the footway or verge

  


Local authority area 
  

1999 
  

2000 (provisional) 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

12 
  

4 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

7 
  

12 
  



Angus 
  

8 
  

5 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

15 
  

4 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

5 
  

4 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

10 
  

7 
  



Dundee City 
  

5 
  

6 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

5 
  

2 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

5 
  

4 
  



East Lothian 
  

2 
  

5 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

6 
  

7 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

28 
  

20 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Falkirk 
  

9 
  

6 
  



Fife 
  

28 
  

25 
  



Glasgow, City of 
  

52 
  

53 
  



Highland 
  

21 
  

13 
  



Inverclyde 
  

7 
  

3 
  



Midlothian 
  

2 
  

2 
  



Moray 
  

1 
  

- 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

10 
  

11 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

13 
  

9 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

10 
  

4 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

10 
  

15 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

2 
  

1 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

- 
  

1 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

4 
  

5 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

18 
  

12 
  



Stirling 
  

10 
  

8 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

5 
  

6 
  



West Lothian 
  

7 
  

2 
  



Total for Scotland 
  

318 
  

258 
  



  Notes:

  1. The figures for 2000 are provisional because the process of checking police forces’ returns for 2000 has not been completed.

  2. The STATS 19 returns do not distinguish between pedestrian casualties who were on the footway and those who were on a verge.

  3. These figures cover all people who were injured in the kinds of accidents described in the table heading - not just pedestrian casualties.

Roads

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the First Minister on 15 February 2001 ( Official Report , col. 1302) regarding the possibility that the trunk road maintenance contracts could be suspended or retendered after investigation by the Transport and the Environment Committee, what the cost implications would be in penalties and/or compensation of such courses of action.

Sarah Boyack: The First Minister addressed the hypothetical situation where the report of Audit Scotland or the committee convinced ministers that there are serious difficulties with the contract. He further stated that there is no evidence whatever at this stage to justify such a course of action.

  The situation envisaged is clearly hypothetical and it is not possible to quantify possible penalties and/or compensation at this time.

Schools

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines exist for schools on administering prescribed medication to pupils.

Mr Jack McConnell: A number of local authorities have issued guidance to schools on the administration of medicine including prescribed medication. The Scottish Office also issued guidance for staff who provide intimate care for children and young people with disabilities entitled "Helping Hands" that covers the administration of prescribed medication in school settings. Draft good practice guidance on the administration of medicine in schools is currently being prepared.

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive why the planned guidance of the working group on the administration of medicines in schools is over one year late.

Mr Jack McConnell: The planned guidance is not one year late. The working group established to develop good practice guidance on the administration of medicine in schools held its first meeting on 30 November 1999. A copy of the draft guidance prepared is in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. Comments were sought on the draft guidance by 29 December 2000. The consultation exercise was extremely helpful with over 50 detailed responses. The comments have been considered by the working group and the draft guidance is now being amended in the light of those comments.

Scotland House

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what operational targets have been set for Scotland House in Brussels and whether it will provide details of actual performance against any such targets since inception.

Mr Jack McConnell: Scotland House is an inclusive body that involves a wide range of interests, including the Scottish Executive EU Office (SEEUO) and Scotland Europa, which in turn houses a number of its subscribers. Most of the bodies located in Scotland House have the following operational targets in common:

  following the European legislative process and pursuing issues of relevance to Scotland;

  maintaining close contact with key people in the EU Institutions, including the Scottish MEPs;

  sharing information and resources between the Scotland House residents as appropriate;

  increasing the range and depth of information on EU affairs flowing back to Scottish bodies, and

  advising Scottish bodies about EU procedures and how to become more involved.

  In Working Together for Scotland: A Programme of Government, the Scottish Executive expresses a commitment to use Scotland House to best effect as a source of information and co-ordination of Scottish interests in Europe. The role that Scotland House can play in realising this commitment can be illustrated by some specific figures. To date, the residents of Scotland House have facilitated 52 visits by Scottish Executive Ministers to Belgium and Luxembourg (including several to meet Commissioners and attendance at 16 full Councils of Ministers) and attendance at over 100 working groups by Scottish Executive officials; and have seen at least 10,000 visitors pass through their doors.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total costs were of the publication (design, photocopying, printing, Internet connection of text, distribution and costs of launch) of (a) Scottish Economic Statistics 2001 and (b) Scottish Social Statistics 2001 and how many copies of each were produced.

Angus MacKay: The total cost of publication for Scottish Social Statistics 2001 was £22,971, with a print run of 1,000 copies. The total cost of publication for Scottish Economic Statistics 2001 was £16,689, with a print run of 700 copies.

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to post a civil servant to the UK Embassy in Washington and, if so, what level of civil service post it will be, to whom the post will be accountable, how it will interact with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department of Trade and Industry, whether it will have an allocated budget and, if so, from what department or cost centre this will come.

Mr Jack McConnell: Yes. Detailed arrangements for this post have not yet been finalised.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many exam results are still under appeal to the Scottish Qualifications Authority from the 2000 diet and what the estimated timescale is for dealing with these appeals.

Mr Jack McConnell: I have been informed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority that of the 87,000 appeals submitted as part of the usual appeals process following the 2000 Diet, no appeals remain outstanding.

Social Inclusion

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2707 by Jackie Baillie on 14 December 2000, which institutions it has worked with in order to encourage the provision of basic bank accounts, what the nature has been of any encouragement given and what the response has been.

Jackie Baillie: The Executive has been working with the four Scottish clearing banks, through the Committee of Scottish Clearing Banks (CSCB), and COSLA to encourage both the provision and uptake of basic bank accounts. A working group has been established to explore new ways of reaching those who remain unbanked. The CSCB advise that 200,000 basic bank accounts are now open with an additional 10,000 being opened per month across the four banks.

Social Work

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that children identified by a children’s panel as being in need of supervision are allocated a social worker within 14 days.

Nicol Stephen: Local authorities have a legal duty to give effect to supervision requirements made by children’s hearings in their area.

  Inter-agency guidance on national standards for the processing of cases through the children’s hearings system sets a maximum target of 15 working days from the issue of a supervision requirement for allocation of a social worker. The Scottish Executive will be monitoring performance against the standards. In individual cases it is for the local authority to be satisfied that it is meeting its statutory obligations.

Social Work

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there currently are for social workers in each local authority area.

Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-14568 on 2 May 2001.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12338 by Nicol Stephen on 6 March 2001, whether Circular 4/96, Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs – Assessment and Recording, will be updated to take account of both the growing numbers of children being diagnosed with special educational needs conditions such as attention deficit and hyperactive disorder and the policy of mainstreaming.

Nicol Stephen: Circular 4/96 provides advice to education authorities on the assessment and recording arrangements in Scotland for children and young people with learning needs across the full range of special educational needs.

  The National SEN Advisory Forum is conducting a review of these statutory arrangements and Circular 4/96 will be revised in light of any changes.

  The Scottish Executive will be issuing separate guidance to education authorities on the new mainstreaming duty shortly.

Teacher Training

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13883 by Mr Jack McConnell on 23 March 2001, how many students started a secondary teacher training course with technological education as their main subject at each institution in each year since 1997-98.

Mr Jack McConnell: Entrants to Technical Education Teacher Training courses 1997-98 to 1999-2000

  


 


1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  



Total 
  

90 
  

57 
  

50 
  



Moray House1


31 
  

0 
  

0 
  



University of Edinburgh 
  

0 
  

19 
  

12 
  



Northern College of Education 
  

6 
  

7 
  

7 
  



University of Glasgow 
  

26 
  

21 
  

16 
  



University of Strathclyde 
  

27 
  

10 
  

15 
  



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency.

  Notes:

  1. Moray House merged with the University of Edinburgh in 1998-99.

Teacher Training

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce student teacher training allowances of £6,000 in Scotland, similar to those being offered by the Department of Education and Employment in England, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Supply of Teachers report, Vol. 1 – Jan 2001 details the background to the current position on the collection of information relevant to teacher supply and outlines planned improvements to current methods. Copies of this report have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 10751). The report at paragraphs 16 and 18 provides the information that there are no training allowances of £6,000 available for those undertaking initial teacher education in Scotland. There is however a fee waiver for all Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students entering from an undergraduate course. There is a further concession that, despite previous postgraduate study, students undertaking a PGCE course in a priority subject will be assisted with their tuition fees, regardless of that study. In other circumstances candidates who have previously studied at postgraduate level or who qualified for a vocation e.g. doctor, dentist, architect, vet, with or without assistance from public funds, are excluded from receiving assistance.

  The need for financial incentives will be kept under review in light of the effect on recruitment to the profession of the introduction of the package agreed on teachers’ conditions and pay.

Teachers

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers were employed in primary schools in each of the last four years, broken down by local authority area.

Mr Jack McConnell: The attached table shows the latest information available on the number of full-time equivalent teachers who were employed in publicly funded primary schools in September of each of the years 1996 to 1999 by local authority area. Information on the number of teachers in schools in September 2000 is not currently available.

  The Supply of Teachers report, Vol. 1 – Jan 2001 details the background to the current position on the collection of information relevant to teacher supply and outlines planned improvements to current methods. Copies of this report have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 10751). The report includes a series of tables in the Annex, one of which gives numbers of FTE publicly funded teachers in the primary and secondary sectors by local authority from September 1997 to 1999 (Annex F). This Annex is currently being updated and extended to provide a wider range of information on teacher numbers.

  Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in publicly funded primary schools by local authority, September (1996-99)

  


 


September 
  



1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  



Scotland 
  

22,483 
  

22,189 
  

22,494 
  

22,643 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

809 
  

795 
  

829 
  

824 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

1,158 
  

1,127 
  

1,155 
  

1,159 
  



Angus 
  

495 
  

490 
  

502 
  

514 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

452 
  

447 
  

443 
  

458 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

212 
  

216 
  

217 
  

221 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

681 
  

678 
  

703 
  

682 
  



Dundee City 
  

697 
  

650 
  

643 
  

650 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

546 
  

538 
  

538 
  

536 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

473 
  

479 
  

480 
  

498 
  



East Lothian 
  

377 
  

398 
  

405 
  

416 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

383 
  

384 
  

395 
  

403 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

1,480 
  

1,491 
  

1,509 
  

1,535 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

199 
  

197 
  

195 
  

192 
  



Falkirk 
  

578 
  

587 
  

587 
  

602 
  



Fife 
  

1,623 
  

1,625 
  

1,646 
  

1,656 
  



Glasgow City 
  

2,619 
  

2,458 
  

2,418 
  

2,421 
  



Highland 
  

1,110 
  

1,081 
  

1,098 
  

1,097 
  



Inverclyde 
  

371 
  

365 
  

363 
  

373 
  



Midlothian 
  

372 
  

377 
  

391 
  

400 
  



Moray 
  

425 
  

418 
  

428 
  

430 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

597 
  

596 
  

605 
  

601 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

1,485 
  

1,472 
  

1,482 
  

1,469 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

122 
  

124 
  

124 
  

122 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

572 
  

572 
  

583 
  

598 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

712 
  

715 
  

740 
  

740 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

485 
  

486 
  

500 
  

501 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

182 
  

184 
  

182 
  

178 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

453 
  

449 
  

448 
  

450 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

1,300 
  

1,285 
  

1,318 
  

1,336 
  



Stirling 
  

346 
  

351 
  

370 
  

370 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

445 
  

425 
  

445 
  

447 
  



West Lothian 
  

724 
  

732 
  

751 
  

765

Young People

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what services are currently available for young runaways and what plans it has for the future provision of such services.

Nicol Stephen: Services for young runaways are provided by a wide range of statutory, voluntary and private agencies. The Scottish Executive is helping to tackle many of the underlying problems which can cause children to run away. We are supporting a variety of initiatives focused on the development and well being of children within the family and others are aimed at improving the quality of care for children who are looked after by local authorities. We will continue to keep this under review, taking account of the recommendations of the Aberlour Trust’s publication Missing Out – Young Runaways in Scotland  and other related work.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Deaf People

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what policies the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has to encourage the employment on its staff of deaf and hard of hearing people.

Sir David Steel: The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is an equal opportunities employer and is firmly committed to providing equal opportunities for all of our staff irrespective of age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion, nationality, ethnic or national origin.

  This commitment is reflected in our recruitment practices which provide that all eligible people will have equality of opportunity for employment on the basis of their suitability for the work. The Personnel Office takes all reasonable steps to ensure that any special requirements, including those in relation to hearing impairment, are accommodated to enable a candidate to progress through the recruitment process and to enable them to carry out the duties of any particular post.

  The SPCB has commissioned work to produce an Equality Framework for the Scottish Parliament. The SPCB will shortly be considering the recommendations contained it the report but I understand that the Framework will provide for all recruitment advertisements to be copied to various Equality organisations including the Disability Services Team in an effort to ensure that all sections of the community have access to employment opportunities in the Scottish Parliament.